NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



229 



portant pait of youi- bodies ; and j-ou -will see, by 

 the above, that, as it regards them, the whole meal 

 is nearly three times more nourishing than the fine 

 flour. 



Now, let us sum the whole together, and sec if we 

 have not made out a clear case, ■\'lz., that we are daily 

 actually throwing a vast quantity of food away. 

 One thousand pounds of whole meal contain — 



Muscular matter, lo6 pounds. 



Bone matter, 170 " 



Fat matter, 28 " 



354 

 One thousand pounds of fine flour contain — 



Muscular matter, 130 pounds. 



Bone matter, 60 " 



Fat matter, 20 <• 



210 

 Now, deduct 210 from 354, and you have 144 

 pounds of matter %'ery essential to nourishment 

 thrown out. Who, then, will say that we arc not 

 throwing away food every day of our lives ? Is it 

 any wonder that wo are growing up a delicate and 

 an effeminate people ? Our children, instead of being 

 fed upon coarse bread, and turned into the open air 

 for exercise, whereby lungs and limbs may bo exer- 

 cised and expanded, are fed on flour cake, of the 

 finest kind, and 7newed up in air-tight houses, like 

 plants in a hot-bed, which wilt on exposure. 



We do not wish to be ultra in our notions or ex- 

 pressions, but we honestly believe that the man who 

 invented the bolt to a flour mill, cursed the nation. 

 — Maine Farmer. 



THE MOST PROFITABLE BREED OF 

 SHEEP. 



There is much discussion upon the question as to 

 the most profitable breed of sheep. One party as- 

 serts that the true breed is the finest and purest Sax- 

 ony ; another is equally certain that it is the hardy, 

 gummy Merino ; a third is opposed to all fine-woolcd 

 sheep, and can onlj^ grow the South Down ; while 

 still another can see no profit in any but the long- 

 woolcd and stately Cotswold or Leicester ; while a 

 great multitude are in favor of the mongrels obtained 

 by a cross from a part or all of the kinds mentioned. 



The object of raising sheep, as of any other kind 

 of farming, is to make money, — to turn the annual 

 herbage into cash. The best breed of sheep for the 

 farmer to adopt will depend, in a great degree, vipon 

 his locality ; whether near or at a distance from a 

 good market for live stock, as large towns, or upon 

 railroads leading thereto ; whether in a grain-grow- 

 ing or a grazing district, or in a warm or a cold cli- 

 mate. 



It is settled that a fine staple of wool cannot be 

 grown upon a profitable carcass for the butcher. A 

 large and early-maturing sheep, like the South Down 

 and Cotswold, cannot be made to produce a fine 

 clothing wool ; but the wool they do produce is val- 

 uable, and brings a remunerating price, especially the 

 long wool of the Ijciccstcrs. Then coarser and larger 

 bodied sheep require a larger amount of pasture, and 

 cannot be kept in large flocks. For the farmer who 

 keeps but a few, say from fifty to one hundred, we 

 should recommend the coarso-woolcd sheep. Many 

 a farmer who can keep his fifty or sixty head could 

 make his two dollars annvially, clear, upon each, with 

 very little trouble. It would require care ; and that 

 is what a great many farmers complain of, though 

 constantlj' grumbling about hard times. In a warm 

 climate, and especially' at the south, fine-woolcd 

 Saxons should l)e preferred. The experience of 

 years demonstrates that, in the growing of fine wool, 



the south need have no competitor, and we feel fully 

 satisfied tliat it would now be the most profitable 

 branch of their agricultural industry. There arc 

 ^flocks in that region which produce "wool that can- 

 not be surjiassed by any in Germany. Among them, 

 and perhaps the very first, is the ilock of M. 11. Cock- 

 rill, Esq., of Nashville, Tennessee. For evenness, 

 firmness, and strength of staple, his fiock has not yet 

 been outdone by the very highest-bred German flocks. 

 Though there is little encouragement for growing fine 

 wool any where, yet we should advise our friends 

 south not to abandon it, but to keep steady alon"- ; 

 for it will not be many years before they will l-.ave 

 the fine wool market entirely to themselves ; for the 

 amount of strictly fine Saxon wool grown this side 

 of the Ohio Kiver will grow less and loss every year. 

 Some men who have superior flocks, like our friends 

 Reed, of Dalton, Ohio, and Ladd, of Ilichmond, 

 Ohio, and who are fond of, and understand, breeding, 

 will-continue them, and make them profitable ; but 

 we fear that, unless there is some great change soon, 

 the Saxon will not spread north and west. 



The great belt of our country lying north of the 

 Alleghany Mountains and the Ohio Kiver, and ex- 

 tending clear up to the Ilocky ^Mountains, seems ad- 

 mirably adapted for the Negretti and Infantado branch 

 of the Merino families, as south of that line docs for 

 the Escurial and Electoral branch. The best repre- 

 sentative of this branch is found in what is now 

 termed the Vermont Merino. They are a hardy race, 

 with thick, hea\'y fleeces, full of gum and yolk, and 

 formed to withstand well the rigors of our hard win- 

 ters. Like their congener, the Saxon, they delight 

 in a dry soil, and M'ill thrive upon pastures where 

 larger sheep would starve. In Vermont, objections 

 are made to this breed of sheep by wool dealers, be- 

 cause the wool is so heavy by reason of its gum and 

 3-olk. It may not be so profitable for them, but it 

 shows the great value of the breed for cold and bleak 

 regions. 13ut as this sheep travels west, it loses this 

 objection ; for in this state, and throughout the Avest, 

 the wool retains its firmness, but loses much of its 

 superfluous gum and oil, but none of its vigorous 

 constitution. Crossed upon the common breeds of 

 Ohio, Michigan, and the other western states, it pro- 

 duces a valuable breed, giving a finer and heavier 

 fleece, and a stronger and more healthy habit. This 

 breed is not confined to Vcnnont, but may be found, 

 in great purity, in this state, and Connecticut, and 

 Massachusetts. Among the best now in our mind is 

 the flock of our friend, Mr. Dickinson, of Victor, 

 whose communication on the subject of his flock can 

 be found in the last volume. 



It is not necessary here to particularize the various 

 mongrel breeds which have grown out of these great 

 loading families. We believe that one great cause 

 of controversy has arisen from not taking a true view 

 of the great and natural division of our country 

 into nortlicrn and southern wool-growing sections. 

 Around large cities, and upon small farms, coarse- 

 woolcd sheep will be found the most profitable ; 

 while in the milder climate of the south the Saxon, 

 and in the colder regions of the north the Merino, 

 Avill be found the true breed. — The Wool-Groiccr. 



POULTRY RAISING. 



Having had some experience in breeding poultry, 

 I will state a few facts that have come under my ob- 

 scn-ation, presuming, however, that they will be of 

 little interest in comparison to the writings of the 

 alilc pens that have preceded me on tliis subject. 

 There aj^pears to be felt a considerable interest in 

 regard to the n\imcrous breeds of foreign fowls that 

 now begin to be conunon among us ; and the only 



